Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Ange & Kieran ♥

Hello! I am Ange and I'm usually found blogging about makes and craft at
This is Wiss. When
Modern Mummy asked for guests to write about their wedding day I jumped at the
chance. It is nearly three years since I got married but to my shame I still
haven't got round to getting the wedding book printed up - all the photos,
mementos and messages are all still in a box. One day, I will get round to it,
I promise! But before then I can share it all here...

Kieran and I had been together for 8 years when we got married, plus we
had a 9 month old son. We both decided very early on that we wanted our wedding
day to be relaxed, and having a baby to look after meant that we couldn't get
too hung up on all the preparations anyway! We wanted the day to be special
(who doesn't?!) and fun. Oh, and Kieran said it HAD to be in South London, as
he gets a nose bleed if he goes 'up North'!

So we got married at Camberwell Registry Office, and had the reception
at The Prince Regent pub in Herne Hill. We arranged for a vintage double-decker
bus to collect our guests at London Bridge station, drop them off in Camberwell
and then take us all on to Herne Hill. Well, that was plan but the bus was very
old, and it had a few problems starting so there was a mad dash for taxis at
London Bridge. Luckily the bus was soon fixed and it joined us after the
ceremony to take us on to the pub. Phew!

We wanted our wedding to have lots of personal touches, and we started
with the invitations. We made these ourselves by photographing a couple of
scaled people (I'm a modelmaker by day) painted to look like us (?) We had a
'Save the Date' card, and one invitation for the ceremony and lunch, and
another for the evening reception.

Our friends are really important to us - I think living in London, where
you get lots of people from all over the place, friends often become more like
family. We were touched that so many of our friends wanted to be involved in
the organisation and preparations. Liz made the cake, a delicious and HUGE
carrot and orange cake; Kate made the cheese biscuits, 'A' and 'K' ones, as
well as coming to Covent
Garden Flower Market with my brother and I to buy as many orange
flowers as we could! Lisa sorted out the rings for us, Jo found my beautiful
bracelet, and Marc was the DJ. Hannah read after the ceremony, organised my hen
do and her mum made my bouquet, while Ren helped me find the dress and gave
invaluable advice. (Something I learned by myself though: don't wear big black
Primark pants when you plan to try on wedding dresses!)

I had originally planned for my friend Beth's mum to make my dress, but
while out shopping for the fabric Ren persuaded (pestered) me to try on some
instead. I was not keen on this as a.) I am not really one for big, fussy
dresses and b.) I had big, black Primark pants on. However, we found ourselves
in a fancy shop with a very helpful assistant. I scanned the dresses and picked
the plainest, most simple dress so that I could try it on quickly and then get
out. I was not expecting to like it, let alone love it but... it was perfect!
It was also in the sale and the only one they had left was my size. Even more
perfect! I had no idea what a Lanvin dress was at the time, only that I had
just bought one for more money than I had ever planned to spend. Oops! (The
back of the dress is stunning as it falls from the shoulder blades into a low
'V' but you'll have to take my word for it as I can't find any pictures of my
behind!)

It was a fantastic day with all our friends and close family around us -
some came from France, most came from South London and my brother flew in from
Australia to give me away. Poor little Lewis had a high temperature that day and
really wasn't himself but he was happy enough with cuddles from Nana Daisy and
Kieran and I were able to spend the night in a hotel - my first night ever away
from my baby!

We have so many great photos from the day that I'll let them do the
talking. Here is the day in snapshots:

I think this one needs explaining - we were doing Baby Led

Weaning and
I was sitting next to Lewis. I didn't want to take any chances

with his mucky
hands and my dress so I put this poncho on while he ate!

Guests: 50 for the ceremony and lunch, 50 more for the
evening reception

1st Dance: You are the Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder

Last Dance: Finally by Kings of Tomorrow

Wedding night: Hilton Docklands, London

Honeymoon: a week in Cornwall (with the boy!)

Thank you Katy for letting me share my wedding day with your readers. I
am loving reading all about everyone’s big day during this series and I can't
wait to hear all about yours soon. Good luck with all your final preparations
and enjoy it!